When she pulled into the driveway, she saw Derek's silver BMW already there. It occurred to her she had no idea what he did for a living, but he obviously didn't do too bad for himself to be driving a car like that. Her older model Jeep Cherokee looked out of place next to his car. Oh well. She supposed she would find out what he did in due time. She did know he had a job though , thinking back to the conversation in the bar a few nights ago. It had just never crossed her mind to ask what exactly he did.
She hadn't even gotten two feet in the door when he emerged from the kitchen with two glasses of wine. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, which was surprising. Every time she'd seen him, he'd been dressed in khakis with a sweater over his button down shirt. Of course it didn't matter what he worse, she thought. The man managed to make everything look good on him.
" I found some glasses in the cabinet , " Derek explained as she took the glass from him.
" Thanks. You have no idea how much I needed this , " Meredith smiled gratefully at him before taking a sip.
" Bad day? "
" Again, you have no idea. Did you order the food or do you want me too , " She asked as she ventured into the kitchen.
" Well, I decided to wait for you, seeing as I really have no clue as to what places around here are good or not , " He replied as he trailed behind her.
Meredith set the her glass down and opened up a drawer, pulling out the phone book. Derek handed her the phone and she dialed the number. She could feel his eyes on her the entire time and it unnerved her. She gave the man her name and she saw him smirk out of the corner of her eye. Of course, she had given her full name. Crap. After placing her order, she handed the phone over to Derek to do the same, then quickly scurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs to change.
Ten minutes later, he was leaning against her door and smirking at her. She pretended like she didn't notice he was there. Of course that wasn't making him go away. No, instead he just stood there, watching her, obviously amused.
" You don't do the whole getting to know people thing very well, do you , " He finally asked.
" As a general rule, no , " She stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him. Their eyes caught and she found herself unable to look away. Even from where she was standing, she could see the depth of the blue in his eyes. It was like drowning in the ocean, but not having the will to try and fight for the surface.
" So this bad day you're having, I suppose it's out of the question for me to ask if you want to talk about it , " Derek's voice carried over to her softly and she forced herself to look away from him.
" Like I told you, I don't do the sharing thing well , " Her voice came out a bit harsher than she intended and she immediately felt bad.
" Look, Derek , I'm sorry...I just..." Meredith started to apologize.
" Don't worry about it. Just know that when or if you're ready to talk to someone , I'd be more than willing to listen."
She flashed him a grateful smile.
Lunch was good. Afterwards, Derek had gone upstairs to do something or other and Meredith stayed downstairs. She decided that if she was going to be living in the house for the time being she might as well start unpacking. She unpacked the kitchen first, seeing as that most of their dishes and such were still in boxes. Meredith had brought all this stuff with her from Boston. Her mother had never really kept much in the kitchen, due to the fact she was rarely ever home. She worked on the living room next , wanting it to look as livable as possible. It was in there she found the box of her mother's surgery tapes.
As a child, she had always delighted in watching her mother work. After all, her mother was Ellis Grey, one of the first big chick surgeons. Her mother had been her idol. Now, the great Ellis Grey was reduced to a shell of woman. She remembered her mother calling to tell her that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. They'd both been devastated, but the real trauma didn't kick in for Meredith until she had to watch her mother , the woman she had idolized , be put into a nursing home.
With a sigh, she pushed the box away from her. Maybe unpacking hadn't been such a great idea after all. She had wanted to take her mind off her mother, not drag herself further down into her misery. Meredith heard a beeping noise go off and then she heard Derek curse. She got to her feet and was about to go upstairs when he came down, pulling his jacket on.
" Hey. I've got to go into work for a while , " He explained as he headed towards the door.
" Okay. See ya later, " Her voice held the slightest hint of a question to it and he flashed her one of those million dollar smiles.
" Definitely."
Derek was exhausted by the time he got out of surgery. He had tried taking a nap earlier at the house , but he'd been restless and unable to sleep. Now all he wanted was a hot shower and to maybe go home and crawl in bed with Meredith. He didn't know if she'd still be awake, but he was secretly hoping she was. They didn't discuss what was going on between them and he liked it that way for now. Less pressure on both of them. Oh, he liked her and in more than 'I like to have sex with you' kind of way. She was fascinating. Kind of like a puzzle. You put together the outside of the puzzle first and then worked your way in.
" So I hear you checked out of the hotel. Find a place already , " Richard Webber's voice called from behind him.
" Actually, a friend is letting me crash at her place until I decide what to do next , " Derek answered as Richard fell into step beside him.
" At her place? This friend... she more than a friend , " Richard asked knowingly.
" Possibly. How's Adele , " Derek skillfully changed the subject.
" She's fine. We're more concerned about you, Shep. You should give yourself some time... "
Derek cut him off.
" Relax, Richard. It's kind of a new thing. It may go somewhere and it may not. "
" Just be careful, Derek. I know the whole thing with Addison hasn't been easy on you. "
" Now see, I was having a perfectly good day until you had to go and mention Satan , " Derek responded as he stopped in front of the elevator and viciously hit the down button.
" Alright, fair enough. However, Adele would like you to join us for dinner sometime soon. You can even bring your 'friend' if you want."
" I'll see what my schedule is like, " Derek told him in as he stepped into the elevator and the door closed behind him.
He was disappointed to see that the house was dark when he arrived home. He was hoping that Meredith would still be awake when he got home. He quietly put the key in the lock and swung the door open, trying to be as quiet as possible. He noticed an eerie blue glow coming from the living room as he shut the door and he ventured in to see what the source was. Meredith was passed out asleep on the couch and the blue glow came from the tv screen. He briefly considered just leaving her there to sleep, but the couch didn't look all that comfortable. Mind made up, he moved across the room and crouched down beside the couch, putting his hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently.
" Meredith , " He spoke softly. He was answered with a grunt. He tried again. Her eyes fluttered open to look at him sleepily.
" C'mon. You've got a big comfortable bed upstairs. Let's go sleep in it okay, "
" Too tired to go upstairs, " she muttered as her eyes slipped shut.
" Okay then, well just put your arms around my neck okay? "
He slipped his arms under her legs and lifted her effortlessly. Her arms wound around his neck and he carried her up the stairs to her room. She didn't stir when he laid her down, but she didn't move her arms from around his neck either. He had two choices. He could try and get away with the risk of waking her up again or he could just law down beside her. It really wasn't even a choice. Toeing his shoes off, he slipped onto the bed beside her. His eyes drifted shut as she nestled her head against his chest.
Derek was gone the next morning when she woke up and Meredith briefly entertained the thought that she had imagined him sleeping next to her until she realized she had fallen asleep on the couch and woke up in her bed. There was no note this time and she found herself oddly disappointed. Of course, they hadn't had sex the night before, so why would there be a note?
As a rule, Meredith didn't let men get to close to her. She had Daddy issues out the wazoo and she knew it carried over into her personal life. Her dad had simply just walked away from her and her mom. If it had been that easy for a man to walk away from his marriage, she imagined it would be that much easier for an unmarried man to just walk away from a relationship. Which is why she had no clue as to exactly what was driving her to entertain this semi relationship with Derek. She had fallen asleep with him every night since she met him and a voice inside of her was screaming at her to end it before she got hurt, but there was another voice telling her she was twenty-eight and to grow up and get over it.
Most of the time, she managed to quash that voice, but in her time since meeting Derek, it had gotten annoyingly louder. Actually, it was bordering on screaming. She had tried reasoning but it had told her that she was a surgeon and surgeons weren't cowards. She grudgingly admitted to herself that it was right. She would not be a coward.
Which is why when Derek called her and asked her to join him and a couple friends for dinner, she had tuned out that little voice and went with the louder one. Now, she was frantically searching for something suitable to wear. Apparently, they would be dining at the restaurant atop the space needle, somewhere Meredith hadn't been to since she turned sixteen. Spotting a slinky black dress that she had never worn in the back of her closet, she grabbed for it hastily and hurried to get ready.
